On most days, Anna would be happy and smiling and bright as a daisy. Her warm expression and loveable personality could melt the hearts and souls of anyone who was around her, making her simply a complete joy to be around.
Elsa was the one who most enjoyed her sister's charm and radiant energy. Sometimes, when her morale was low and there was a long, glum look on her face, Elsa could just think of Anna or look at her and a smile would form on her lips.
Anna wasn't just Elsa's sister. She was a force of nature in her own right, an unstoppable force of pureness of heart. However, of late things had been different around Arendelle's favourite princess. There was something clearly off with her.
Kristoff was the first to notice. When Anna was helping him out at the troll valley up in the mountains a week earlier, she'd been a bit less cheerful than usual. He'd passed it on to Elsa, who herself was also deeply troubled by the news.
She didn't know of a single thing that could put Anna down like that, aside from mentioning her former fiancee Hans. Things didn't get any better when Anna started to act a bit more distant from her. She wasn't ignoring her in any way, but there were times when she suddenly felt like she was just going on autopilot when around Elsa, part of her usual charm was gone.
After over a week of this and Elsa realised something needed to be done about her sister. She couldn't bear seeing Anna in such a downer state any longer. One night, Elsa decided to go and confront Anna about it, hoping that whatever she was dealing with could be sorted with one conversation.
Stepping out of her study after finishing one last piece of royal work, Elsa made her way to hers and Anna's shared bedroom, the same room that they had slept in as children. They'd moved back in with one another a few weeks after reuniting, mainly because Elsa didn't like being apart from Anna at night.
Arriving at the room, Elsa tapped on the door, knowing that Anna was in there. "Anna? Are you there?"
"O-oh, hey Elsa," Anna said, her cheerful, but not-so cheerful sounding voice calling to her sister. "You heading to bed early?"
"No," Elsa replied. "I just wanted to talk to you for a moment... if that's okay?"
"Sure, whatever you want!" Anna chirped, but Elsa knew Anna's happy tones were hiding something.
Turning the knob of the door, Elsa opened it and walked into the room. Anna was lying on her bed, reading to herself. She then put her book down, looking at Elsa with a warm glow, but Elsa could tell that her favourite star wasn't glowing so brightly tonight.
Sitting at the end of Anna's bed, Elsa tried to start off the conversation casually, not wanting to bring up the topic right away. "You're reading a new book I see?"
"Yeah, Punzie leant it to me last time she was here in Arendelle," Anna replied. "She said it was one of her favourites, reminded her of how she fell for Cass and such. I've only just started reading." She giggled. "It's really good so far!"
There was some part of the old Anna there, Elsa could tell. How she could go on and on about any little thing, how she would go into so much detail. And yet, Elsa still could sense something was off. Then again, Anna wasn't exactly the best at lying. She was too much of an honest sweetheart.
Narrowly looking at Anna, Elsa smiled. "I see... well, maybe you could give it to me to read when you're done. It's been a while since I got stuck into a good book."
"Maybe I could read it to you," Anna then offered, but then she noticed how Elsa was looking her over in a strange manner. "Hey... Elsa, are you alright? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"L-Like what?" Elsa nervously replied.
"Like that, all judgemental and angry. It's like you're accusing me of something," Anna answered, a bit confused. "Is there... something wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong with me, Anna," Elsa assured her sister, realising that it was pointless to try and avoid the subject any longer. "But... I think something is wrong with you. You've been a little... off lately. Distant, sometimes looking down."
"I... I don't know what you're talking about," Anna denied.
Elsa looked at her sister dead in the eyes, worried for her. "Anna, just tell me what's wrong."
Anna looked away. "Oh... It's nothing, just-"
"Anna, it's okay," Elsa assured her. "You know you can tell me anything right? There's no need for secrets between us any more."
Shifting away, Anna turned her back to Elsa. She knew Elsa was trying to help, but she didn't wish to bring up the subject to her. She didn't want Elsa's happiness to be ruined by her current struggle. Elsa deserved to be happy, regardless of how Anna felt.
"I know," she said. "But... I can't tell you. I don't want you to get upset over all this. Please, just... change the subject."
"Anna, I'm sure whatever you're dealing with can't upset me that much," Elsa insisted. "You know that I rarely get upset around you these days. You've helped me heal so much."
"But, Elsa, this is something serious," Anna retorted, starting to sound agitated. "I don't want to hurt you because of this."
Elsa looked down. "Anna... if you don't want to tell me, I won't ask anymore."
Seeing her sister, Anna realised she needed to confess. She was already hurting Elsa by keeping this from her, something she had been wanting to avoid. Trying her best to hold back the building tears, she looked at Elsa dead in the eye.
She sighed, before making her confession. "Fine... It's about the streak in my hair. I... I miss it."
The Queen's eyes widened in shock and surprise. She gasped. "You what?!"
"The white streak I had in my hair," Anna repeated. "I... I wish I could have it back."
Trying to hold herself together, Elsa breathed deeply, shaking. Her eyes were slowly starting to water as she looked at Anna with a look of panic and fear. She couldn't believe what Anna was thinking about, what she was talking about. After all this time... did she really want it back?
"B-But... I hurt you!" Elsa cried, starting to sob. "It was always a reminder of how I hurt you as a child and even though it's gone, I can still... oh god..." She then broke down in tears, hugging herself as she cried, her mind filling with the image of an eight-year-old Anna, struck in the head by an ice blast.
Anna moved closer to her sister, starting to cry too. She'd hurt her, that was obvious. No matter whether she tried to hide this information or confessed, she would have hurt Elsa anyway. She cried wet tears, looking into Elsa's eyes.
"This is why I never wanted to mention this," Anna confessed again. "I didn't want to bring up the memories again, but... I miss that streak. I missed that streak because it was a part of you. Ever since you told me the truth, I realised that streak was not from a troll kissing me or some weird dream I had as a kid, but it was part of you, a sacrifice you made to try and save my life. I started to love that streak. It was like a wedding ring, a promise that you would always be with me, no matter where I went."
Elsa was still crying, still listening to Anna, but breaking down in tears, looking down. Anna knew that even if Elsa knew the truth, there was still much pain to bare. She reached forward, cupping Elsa's cheeks and tilting her head up.
Their eyes were both red from the tears, but the two sisters still had one another. Anna leaned forward, giving Elsa a tender, loving kiss, before pulling away. "Elsa... I'd never ask you to give me the streak back. I'd rather you didn't live through that pain again... but I want you to know that no matter what I want or what we've done, I'll still love you and you'll love me. I know the streak hurts you, so I won't mention it ever again."
Elsa slowly sniffled, accepting Anna's explanation. As her tears started to dry, she realised that the past was indeed in the past and that all they could do was move on. She then gave Anna a warm smile, before holding up her hand and concentrating.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Anna wondered, looking at Elsa, a little confused.
"Just hold still a moment," Elsa insisted, focusing more on Anna's hair. She gave Anna an encouraging smile. "There, done."
Anna then felt a small cold sensation on her head and through her hair. Looking down, Anna held up one of her braids, her eyes widening in surprise. Running up her braid and on her head, in the same spot as before, was the streak of white hair.
She held the braid in her hand, shocked in disbelief. It was back, Elsa had really given it her back.
"Now you really do have a part of me," Elsa said, shyly blushing as she felt proud of her accomplishment. "Do you... like it?"
Anna was speechless for a few moments before her eyes watered with tears, happy ones this time. She then leapt forward, crushing Elsa under her weight from a bear hug and kissing her over and over again, holding her and snuggling her tightly.
"THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!" She repeated over and over again, elated and happy as she kissed her sister.
Elsa laughed, smiling. "Easy there," she giggled, booping Anna's nose. "You know I'm very delicate."
"Sorry," Anna sighed dreamily, gazing into Elsa's eyes. "How... did you give me the streak back?"
"I just froze the tips of your hair," Elsa replied. "It was quite simple to do actually... I could freeze all your hair if you like, give you a full head of white."
Her sister kissed her nose. "Nah, I don't wanna go grey just yet." She then sighed, resting her head on Elsa's breasts, smiling. "Thank you, Elsa... for understanding."
"You're always welcome," Elsa replied. "My beautiful Anna."
xXx
Author's note: This story was based on something I read on one of the Elsanna headcanon blogs a while back. I figured it would be a cute idea to make into a fic. To be honest, I think this white streak will be more welcomed than the old one. See ya next time!